Witherite is a barium carbonate mineral, BaCO3.

This mineral is colorless, milky-white, grey,

pale-yellow, green, to pale-brow that can typically be found in low temperature hydrothermal
lead and Fluorite veins. Witherite is a sedimentary rock that is formed from Calcite the mineral
loses its calcium and gets replaced by barium which forms Witherite in the process, its crystals
for the most part are twinned, usually in pseudohexagonal trillings that are both elongated and
bipyramidal, resembling bipyramidal hexagons may also be in bladed or tabular crystals. Most
crystals have striations on crystals faces, Witherite also occurs fibrous, grainy, platy, mammilary,
columnar, crusty, massive, and as groups of crystals in layers. Something interesting about this
mineral is that when its exposed under short and long wave UV it emits a blue/white fluorescent
this is because the UV light excites specific electrons in atoms of the minerals.

Variscite is a rare hydrated aluminium phosphate mineral which is formed by direct deposition
from phosphate-bearing water that has reacted with aluminium-rich rocks in a near-surface
environment. Variscite contains inclusions of white crandallite, like the garnet and feldspar
groups, visible crystals are very rare, and are usually associated in rounded aggregates of
hemispherical balls. crystals are often grainy, nodular, botryoidal, reniform, in veins, and
massive. Variscite is famous for its array of bright green colors at which many may mistake the
color for turquois but Variscite is far more green then it is blue, you can find this mineral around
the world in countries like Australia, Germany, France, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden and
Brazil even right here in Fairfield as well as Lucin Utah. Something interesting about this
mineral is that at one point this mineral was even referred to as Utahlite because mostly all
Variscite originated from Utah.

Aragonite is one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium
carbonate, CaCO3. Aragonite is always found in deposits formed at low temperatures near the
surface of the Earth, it is formed by biological and physical processes such as precipitation from
marine and freshwater environments. This mineral has same chemistry as calcite but it has a
different structure as well as different symmetry and crystal shapes. Aragonite's more compact
structure is composed of triangular carbonate ion groups (CO3), unlike in calcite the carbonate
ions do not lie in a single plane pointing in the same direction instead they lie in two planes that
point in opposite directions therefore Aragonite is considered to have orthorhombic symmetry
with acicular crystals. Twinning is the result of an error during the growth of the crystal,
Aragonite's most famous crystal habit is the twinned pseudo-hexagonal prismatic crystals.
Gypsum roses gets its name through the rose-like formations of crystal clusters of gypsum or
baryte which include abundant sand grains, the 'petals' are flattened crystal clusters the crystals
form during the evaporation of water and produce crystals shaped like prisms or flat plates that
typically grow up to 1 meter. Gypsum can appear as transparent crystals, fibrous, elongated
crystals, granular and compact masses as well as in rosette-shaped aggregates called desert roses.
In terms of geological time gypsum rosettes are naturally occurring and form rapidly typically in
deserts and arid climates and is formed from the combination of water, wind and sand. These
formations occur in shallow salt-water basins as the water evaporates over thousands of years in
order for gypsum rosettes to form it is key that they have an arid environment, a large source of
calcium sulfate, and a seasonal fluctuation of water.

Amethyst is both a mineral and a gemstone, amethyst is composed of Silicon dioxide and gets its
purple coloring by impurities of iron or manganese compounds it is most prevalent as small
stubby pyramidal crystals. The intensity of the purple color can vary from one part of the crystal
to another, the purple color appears during crystal growth when trace amounts of iron are
incorporated into a growing quartz crystal after crystallization gamma rays emitted by
radioactive materials within the host rock irradiate the iron to produce the purple color.
Amethyst are located in geodes; a hollow rock that has amethyst crystals lining the inner walls,
this can happen anywhere there is or was lava close to the earth's surface. Small amounts of
amethyst are found in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks but the world’s most
important amethyst deposits are usually found in the fractures and cavities of igneous rocks, in
Brazil and Uruguay large amounts of amethyst are found in the cavities of basalt flows.

Cuprian Halloysite is considered to be aluminosilicate clay mineral that is typically formed by

surface weathering and hydrothermal alteration of alumino-silicate minerals, Halloysites main
constituents are aluminum, silicon and hydrogen. Cuprian Halloysite is a variety of the mineral
Halloysite it derives its color from copper (which is abundant in the tintic district of central
Utah.) Halloysite naturally occurs as small cylinders Utah varieties form as hallow pipes with
deep green pseudomalachite crystals with a earthy/waxy texture, other varieties of halloysite can
come in white, tan, reddish and brown.

Bixbyite is an uncommon mineral that can be found in localities in the United States, Mexico,
Spain, Germany, Sweden, India, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and a few additional
localities this mineral gets its name by Maynard Bixby who provided Utah with the very first
specimen back in 1897 Bixbyite is opaque and forms dark, lustrous sharply formed crystals
composed of manganese iron oxide and sometimes titanium. The crystals are typically small,
rarely exceeding two centimeters and are grainy and massive especially in manganese ore
localities. They take on a triangular formation and are cubic in shape these cubes usually have
octahedral or dodecahedral modifications on the corners of them and can either be isolated or
clustered together. Bixbyite can be found in lithiophysal cavities caused by expanding gasses,
cavities in rhyolite, and in metamorphosed manganese ore.

Wulfenite is a translucent lead molybdate mineral found in hydrothermal replacement deposits it

can be most often found as thin tabular crystals with a bright orange-red to yellow-orange color,
and sometimes brown. Crystals commonly square or octagonal shape and very narrow mid-
section. Crystals can be very flaky and fragile and are often in platy aggregates with flat or
rounded vicinal faces, it crystallizes in the tetragonal system, producing stubby, pyramidal or
tabular crystals, it also occurs as earthy, granular masses. It is found in many localities,
associated with lead ores and as a secondary mineral associated with the oxidized zone of lead
deposits.

Zircon is a transparent to opaque zirconium silicate mineral it is common throughout the world
as a minor constituent of igneous and metamorphic rocks the composition of the mineral contains
Zirconium silicate, often with some hafnium and occasionally with some uranium, thorium, and
yttrium. When it come to hafnium zircon can only contain up to 20 percent of hafnium in its
structure; if it exceeds that amount then it is no longer Zircon but Hafnon. You can find Zircon
often in igneous environments, usually in granite pegmatites and in nepheline syenite pegmatites
as well as in high-grade metamorphic rocks and in placer deposits. This mineral forms short and
stubby tetragonal crystals as well as prismatic which are sometimes elongated. Zircon is most
commonly dark brown but can also be black, gray, light brown, brownish-red, orange, pink,
yellow, light blue, light green, light purple white, and even colorless. The dark brown to black
color observed in most Zircon crystals is caused from iron oxide impurities. The green coloring
in many rounded pebbles usually indicates the Zircon is radioactive variety. Something
interesting about this mineral is that the color darkens, and its luster dulls upon prolonged
exposure to sunlight.

Almandine is composed of Iron aluminum silicate, the iron is sometimes partially replaced with
magnesium and manganese and is a member of the class of garnet minerals representing an
important group of rock-forming silicates, which are the main constituents of the Earth's crust,
upper mantle and transition zone at which are generally found in schist and gneiss that formed
from regionally metamorphosed argillaceous sediment and pelites, but can also be found in
contact metamorphic hornfels, granites, eclogites, sedimentary rock, and as a detrital mineral.
When it comes to color Almandine is dark red, reddish-brown, black and may also be
multicolored black with reddish edges or tinges and is often embedded in a mica schists, and
forms very nice matrix pieces with perfectly formed symmetrical crystals, the schist matrix often
breaks up due to weathering, resulting in the Almandine crystals breaking loose into individual,
perfectly formed floater crystals.
Opal is not truly a mineral but rather a mineraloid because it lacks a crystal structure, it is a non-
crystalline form of the mineral silica and forms in all mineral environments, especially igneous
environments. Opal is a transparent to opaque and related to quartz and agate but differs as it is
formed from amorphous lumps of silica rather than that from naturally faceted crystals. It is
composed of silicon dioxide combined with water as water runs down through the earth, it picks
up silica from sandstone, and carries this silica-rich solution into cracks and voids (caused by
natural faults or decomposing fossils.) and as the water evaporates, it leaves behind a silica
deposit. Certain opals display different colors when viewed from different directions and when
the light source is moved, this phenomenon is referred to as play of color and gives a stone color
flashes, or schillers of different colors which vary from stone to stone. Opal occurs multicolored
and banded in a variety of colors like white, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green, gray,
brown, and black.

Scheelite is a calcium tungstate mineral composed sometimes with molybdenum, scheelite has
well-formed crystals ranging from bright orange, yellow, brown, smoky brown, and tan. when it
comes to the shape of these crystals, they are often have triangular growth layers with
dipyramidal or pseudo-octahedral crystals These pseudo-octahedral crystals are truncated with
minor pyramids at both the top and bottom points of the crystal. Scheelite occurs in contact
metamorphic skarns, hornfels, and in high-temperature hydrothermal veins, greisens, and granitic
pegmatites, and in epithermal veins and occasionally in alluvial deposits. Something that I found
interesting about this mineral is that scheelite fluoresces a bright blue under short wave
ultraviolet light and because molybdenum can substitute for tungsten, some scheelite specimens
will show a yellow fluorescence.